


Go Home

by thexwalrus



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 18:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3538985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thexwalrus/pseuds/thexwalrus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long distance is hard on them both, but when Leslie decides to enlist Andy's help making a surprise mix CD for Ben, Andy adds in a surprise of his own - which, in turn, inspires Ben to surprise Leslie in his own way. [Mid-5x05 "Halloween Surprise" fic]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Go Home

**Author's Note:**

> i love the idea of andy being pawnee's best cupid and i love the idea of leslie going all out on a cheesy mix cd for ben while he's working in dc. i'm just in love with this show and these characters and i'm parks and wrecked, guys.
> 
> leslie's mix cd for ben is located [here!!](http://http://8tracks.com/thexwalrus/go-home)

Just like everything else she did, Leslie Knope’s mix CD for Ben Wyatt was incredibly detailed and ambitious. After five days of careful deliberation about track selection and order with her and Andy, she’d made a cute cover from a photo of her and Ben and shoved it in an envelope, hoping her tiny surprise would brighten an otherwise dull afternoon for her favorite campaign manager.

It had come to the office via FedEx, shipped overnight from Pawnee, Indiana, addressed to one Benjamin Wyatt. The moment he saw it he couldn’t help but smile, and he took his lunch break at his desk so he could open it in private and enjoy whatever Leslie’d sent him while he ate.

He was slightly surprised to find a thin CD case in the envelope, a slip of paper in the front with a photocopy of a picture Ann had snuck of them one afternoon – the one Leslie had on her desk in her office in Pawnee. The small notebook didn’t seem important – at least, until Ben flipped through it and chuckled. He wasn’t expecting extensive notes on why she’d chosen every song on the CD, but he really should’ve. Ben tossed it in his laptop and hit play, smiling as he read her notes ( _Andy said no romantic mix CD is complete without this song, and then he proceeded to sing at the top of his lungs. Ron made me add it so Andy would stop – it fits us, though, don’t you think?_ ) and listened; halfway through he pulled up an email so he could tell her just how in love with her he was because _god_ this CD was just what he needed. _You always know just how to cheer me up,_ he told her, _even when we’re apart. I’m so lucky, Les. The moment we’re back together I’m gonna kiss you stupid. No one’s gonna be able to get us away from each other._

He finished up the email quickly, deciding to not mention the Florida campaign job – he hadn’t decided yet, so why bring it up again? He knew she was stressing out about it, could tell by her handwriting in the liner notes. It was her normal, looping handwriting but cramped like she couldn’t grip her pen hard enough – a clear sign of her anxieties, even from miles and miles away. After the email had been sent off and the CD finished playing, he went to go back to work on that pro and con list for the Florida job – that was until an upbeat guitar riff interrupted the silence, and Ben jumped.

Mopping up the coffee he spilled with a napkin, he pulled Leslie’s notes over again and flipped to the last page. There wasn’t anything about the song that was currently playing, and he furrowed his brows as he flipped through the little notebook. Blank page after blank page greeted him, which only confused him more. She wasn’t the type of person to add an extra song and not explain why she did.

Towards the end he spotted a note scribbled in red pen – Andy’s handwriting, clearly, and he stopped to read it.

**_Ben! Hi! We miss you! Is April good? Tell her I love her and she needs to come home because I need to do more laundry and I don’t know how._** That earned a snort from Ben, an image of the washer overflowing with bubbles filling his mind. Yeah, he needed to move in with Leslie as soon as possible. He shook his head and went back to reading. **_Anyway, Leslie asked me to help make this CD for you and I decided I would. So I snuck an extra song in there. I think it’s something you need to hear. Listen to the words, man. Come home soon._** It was signed with a big heart and Ben smiled softly, clicking the rewind button to skip to begin the song again so he could listen to the lyrics.

He couldn’t help but nod along to the beat, but he froze when the singer told him “if you need her, you should be there, go home.” And the song only spoke to him more from there. It was as if it was written for him and Leslie.

By the time the singer was reminding him about how much Leslie had given him, he’d already told Jen he wouldn’t be heading to Florida with her. He needed to be back home (and he couldn’t pinpoint just when Pawnee had become “home” to him, but he’d be willing to bet money on it being around the time he spent money out of his own pocket to get Freddy Spaghetti to perform for that blonde firecracker of a government employee) with the love of his life.

The plane ticket back to Indiana took a little more work – he had to find the earliest flight out that didn’t interfere with the final days of this campaign. Celebrations he could skip – key moments he couldn’t. Once he found an empty seat on the earliest plane out, he bought it without a second thought. He wouldn’t tell Leslie, though – he’d tell Ann, make it the best surprise he could possibly pull off.

But there as one way he could make it even better, he realized as he sat there. And he knew how much Leslie loved big surprises. He could make the day he went home the best day of her life with just one more thing.

A quick google search showed him the jewelry stores around the office, and he picked one at random. As soon as he was done for the day, he’d head over and pick out an engagement ring.

Yeah, Leslie was gonna love it.

_if you're lucky to be one of the few_

_to find somebody who can tolerate you_

_then i shouldn't have to tell you again_

_just pack your bags and get yourself on a plane_

_if you need her, you should be there_

**_go home_ **


End file.
